Read the following excerpt. it is adapted from an 1846 speech that irish revolutionary thomas francis meagher gave in dublin to protest the act of union between great britain and ireland.
to be strong, a people must be self-reliant, self-ruled, self-sustained. the dependence of one people upon another, even for the benefits of legislation, is the deepest source of national weakness.
by an unnatural law dependence exempts a people from their just duties—their just responsibilities. when you exempt a people from these duties, from these responsibilities, you generate in them a distrust in their own powers. dependence incapacitates, if not utterly destroys, a spirit that must be cultivated by responsibility and duty. if this spirit of duty does not exist, the country may be tranquil, but it will not be prosperous. it may exist, but it will not thrive. it may hold together, but it will not advance. peace it may enjoy, for peace and serfdom are compatible. but, my lord, it will neither accumulate wealth, nor win a character. it will neither benefit nor instruct mankind.
adapted from thomas francis meagher, "on abhorring the sword"
based on the excerpt, what is the purpose of thomas francis meagher's speech?